English Scottish and Australian Bank, later ANZ Bank, 382-390 Collins Street, and Stock Exchange Building, 376 - 380 Collins Street, Melbourne
Butler, Graeme1985
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English Scottish and Australian Bank, later ANZ Bank, 382-390 Collins Street, and Stock Exchange Building, 376 - 380 Collins Street, Melbourne
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Date of work:
1985
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BIF-CITY 102132
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Item from Collection: Heritage Collection (HC)
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Graphic materialsTextual material
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Series: Central City (BIF-CITY)
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UnrestrictedOpen access.
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UnrestrictedPlease contact City of Melbourne Libraries about obtaining permission to reproduce images.
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Style: Gothic RevivalPeriod: VictorianConstruction date: 1884, 1891.ASSOCIATED RESEARCH ADDED BY GRAEME BUTLER:.Victorian Heritage Register H0034Statement of SignificanceWhat is significant?The ANZ Bank building at 376-392 Collins Street Melbourne, is an amalgamation of two buildings: the former ES&A 'Gothic' Bank, on the corner site, and the former Melbourne Stock Exchange, fronting Collins Street. While both these designs are specifically Gothic in style, their appearance is a demonstration of the two vastly contrasting Gothic revival developments in Melbourne during the 1880s and 1890s. The Gothic Bank was the first building to be constructed and is an example of the first Gothic style. It was designed by William Wardell, to fairly detailed specifications laid out by the General Manager, Sir George Verdon. The style is restrained externally, and internally graceful and ornate. It is secular Gothic, although Wardell had previously made a name for himself through church architecture. Goss & Mason were the contractors and Alexander Todd was appointed as Clerk of Works. The works began in 1883 and the building was opened in May 1887, a year late. The final cost was over £77,000, almost twice the budget. The entire ground floor was established as the banking chamber, and the first and second floors as a residence for the General Manager. Sir George Verdon moved into the residence in 1888 and remained there until his retirement. In 1934 the Lyceum Club leased these rooms and used them until 1957.The former Stock Exchange was designed by the Melbourne architect William Pitt and was constructed in 1887. The style has been labelled Free Gothic and is far less restrained than the earlier building. The facade is extremely ornate and each level has been designed differently. Pitt was one of the best known executors of this new Gothic style in Melbourne, who at the time received criticism from more conservative designers. The total cost of the building, including the land, was £254,000. Overall the land purchase and building construction were a poor investment and in 1921 the Stock Exchange, due to financial difficulties, was forced to sell its property back to the ES&A Bank for only £136,500. The main trading floor for the Stock Exchange was on the ground level in a large vaulted chamber, known as the Cathedral Room. This room was designed with the reverence and grace of a church, an impression emphasised by the vaulted roof and the stained glass windows. In 1923 the bank renovated the site to combine the two buildings, thus enlarging the Banking Chamber, leasing the offices and running the Safe Deposit.How is it significant?The ANZ Bank at 376 - 392 Collins Street Melbourne is of architectural, historical and social significance to the State of Victoria.Why is it significant?The ANZ Bank is architecturally significant as the first ES&A Bank to be designed in the Gothic style that was to become a trademark for the banking corporation. It is also significant for the scale and ornate grandeur of both the interior and exterior, resulting in it being considered one of the finest buildings in Melbourne at the time of its construction. The Gothic Bank and former Stock Exchange are of architectural significance through their association with the prominent Melbourne architects William Wardell and William Pitt. The Verdon chambers within the Gothic Bank are architecturally significant for their extensive size and grandeur. The 1921 alterations to the bank are significant as they represent an interesting solution at the time in inner city expansion; that being renovation and interior redesign rather than rebuilding. The Cathedral Room within the Former Stock Exchange is architecturally significant as a largely original, and very ornate, example of a public business arena.The ANZ Bank is historically significant as the banking headquarters of the ES&A Bank, positioned on a corner site within the centre of the banking precinct in Melbourne, which was the most important business centre at the time in Australia. This building is also significant for what it illustrates of the banking boom during the 1880s and the subsequent depression of the 1890s. The former stock exchange was built far beyond its means and was never able to recoup the financial outlay of the enormously expensive building. The former residence of the General Manager of the ES&A Bank, on the first and second floors of the Gothic Bank, is significant as the only intact example of an inner-city banking residence from the 1880s in Melbourne.The Gothic bank is socially significant as the site of the Lyceum Clubrooms for 32 years.. The Lyceum Club was established in 1912 for women who had demonstrated their ability or commitment to the areas of philanthropy, arts, community service, education, medicine or science, writing or music..VICTORIA HERITAGE REGISTERContextual History:The English Scottish and Australian BankThe first English Scottish and Australian (ES&A) bank opened in Sydney in October 1853, prompted, along with a series of other banking institutions, by the rapid growth of the colony as a result of the Gold Rushes. Within a few months a second branch had opened in Melbourne, in January 1854.The ES&A bank grew rapidly, however in 1893, after the 1880s land boom and subsequent financial recession, it needed to be reconstructed. The bank emerged from the collapse of the 1880s, when many of the financial institutions failed, with a somewhat more conservative management system than had previously been in place.During the 1920s the ES&A Bank continued to grow, taking over the London Chartered Bank, the Commercial Bank of Tasmania, and the Royal Bank of Australia. The ES&A Bank traded under this name until 1970, when it merged with the Australia and New Zealand Bank Ltd (which was an amalgamation in 1951 of the Bank of Australasia and The Union Bank of Australia Ltd) to form the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. [ANZ Banking Museum display, 380 Collins Street Melbourne]William WardellWilliam Wardell was born and trained as an architect in London and migrated to Melbourne in 1858. During his early career he had made a name for himself as a designer of Gothic style churches, having designed over thirty by the time he was thirty-four. Shortly after his arrival in Melbourne he was appointed Inspector General of Public Works, while also practicing privately, and oversaw some of the most prominent building and engineering works to take place in Victoria.In 1878 all Public Servants were dismissed by the Berry Government, and Wardell moved to Sydney where he began a full private practice. Some of his best known designs are St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney, St Patricks Cathedral, Melbourne (VHR 8), St Johns Church of England, Toorak (VHR 204), St Mary's East St Kilda (VHR 750), St Ignatius, Richmond, the Union Club, Sydney and the Australian Steam Navigation Company Building, Sydney. He was especially known for his use of the Gothic architectural style, in which he also designed a number of suburban branches of the ES&A Bank under the instigation of the banks General Manager Sir George Verdon.William PittWilliam Pitt was born in Melbourne in 1855 and began his architectural practice in 1879. He was one of Melbourne's most prominent architects, winning prizes for his designs and being responsible for some of Melbourne's best known buildings. These include the Rialto (VHR 41), the Olderfleet Building (VHR 37), Gordon House (VHR 443), St Kilda Town Hall, the Melbourne Coffee Palace, Falls Bridge, the Princess Theatre (VHR 93), and the former Stock Exchange.William Pitt was also an active member of the Melbourne community. He became a Collingwood councillor, then served as mayor, and in 1891 he was elected to the legislative council, where he served for eighteen years. [ANZ Banking Museum display, 380 Collins Street Melbourne ]Sir George VerdonSir George Frederick Verdon was born in England in 1834, and migrated to Melbourne in 1851. He made his mark within Melbourne at quite a young age, and was appointed Treasurer of Victoria when he was 26. He sat on various committees and boards for institutions like the Public Library and the National Gallery, and served as the Victorian Government's Agent General in London. [ANZ Banking Museum display, 380 Collins Street Melbourne ]When Verdon was 38 he was knighted. Shortly after, in 1872, he took on a new role as the Inspector and General Manager of the ES&A Bank. It is claimed that, despite his position of General Manager, Verdon in fact disliked the banking profession, preferring art and architecture. [?As Perfect As Possible; The Gothic Bank of Collins Street?, Damien M Cash, Historic Buildings Council Victoria, April 1989. p. 1] He took quite an active roll in the construction of the ES&A Banks new headquarters in Collins Street Melbourne, setting firm guidelines for the design, personally choosing the architect and closely liaising with Wardell throughout most of the construction. The outcome, the Gothic Bank (as it is known), is generally attributed as much to Verdon as to Wardell. His preference for the Gothic style of architecture is echoed through the other branches constructed during his tenure as General Manager, which are also Gothic.History of Place:In 1837 the first sale of the site on the corner of Collins and Queen Street was recorded. Mr. William Umphelby purchased the land for £61, and established a licensed hotel named the ?Angel Inn?. [380 Collins Street An Appraisal of the Conversation Constraints Revised Report, Allom Lovell & Associates July 1998. P. 6] The site was leased and operated as a succession of barbers, grocers and banks [ANZ Banking Museum display, 380 Collins Street Melbourne ], before it was sold to William Bowman for £6,452 in 1840. In 1848 he leased the site to George Annand, who established a grocery store. This store remained on the site until the property was purchased by the ES&A Bank in 1880 for the sum of £60,000.The current ANZ Bank, 376-392 Collins Street Melbourne, is an amalgamation of two buildings, the ES&A Gothic Bank, and the former Stock Exchange building. The Gothic Bank was the first to be constructed. It was begun in 1883 and opened in May 1887, having run significantly over budget. [ANZ Banking Museum information ?The Gothic Bank?] When the building was proposed, three of Melbourne's leading architects were invited to submit designs constraining to fairly specific briefing instructions as to the style, which was to be Gothic. [380 Collins Street An Appraisal of the Conversation Constraints Revised Report, Allom Lovell & Associates July 1998. P. 10] William Wardell's design was selected and a budget was set of £40,000. Goss & Mason were the contractors and Alexander Todd was appointed as Clerk of Works. The entire ground floor was the banking chamber, and the first and second floors were built as a residence for the General Manager, complete with a library, morning room, drawing room, dining room, billiards room, bedrooms and servants quarters. Verdon moved into the residence in 1888 and remained there until his retirement. The only other two general managers to reside in the rooms were Alexander Urquhart and Charles Wren. When Wren retired in 1933, the rooms were vacant until the Lyceum Club leased them from 1934 until 1957. [ANZ Banking Museum information ?Verdon Chambers?] These rooms remain the most intact example of any comparable city residence from that period within Australia. [380 Collins Street An Appraisal of the Conversation Constraints Revised Report, Allom Lovell & Associates July 1998. P. 88]Despite the budget established by the Bank's board of directors in London, the finest available craftsmen were contracted for each job and the building grew in extravagance. As the costs mounted, a director was sent out from London by the concerned board to investigate the progress of the building. In his report back he stated ?We have a banking chamber which is one of the sights of Melbourne and likely to be so for many years to come? [The building] was built by a man with perfect taste and ample means for gratifying it.? [Banking Museum information ?The Gothic Building?] When the building was opened in May 1887, a year after the proposed finishing date, it had cost over £77,000.The size of the entire site was 133 feet on Collins Street and 155 feet on Queens Street. When the ES&A Bank erected their headquarters they only used a portion of land in the corner, and in 1886 the remaining ?L? shaped block of land surrounding it was sold to a property company for £65,000. The following year, this company sold the land to the Stock Exchange of Melbourne for £121,000. [?The Gothic Bank of Collins Street? ? leaflet produced by the ANZ Bank January 1976] The individual who seemed to greatly profit from this arrangement was a man by the name of B. J. Fink, the owner of the property company and also the chairman of the Stock Exchange of Melbourne. [380 Collins Street An Appraisal of the Conversation Constraints Revised Report, Allom Lovell & Associates July 1998. P. 32]William Pitt was contracted to design the Stock Exchange, which consisted of an ornate Gothic style building fronting Collins Street, and a wing fronting Queens Street which was to house the safe deposit (VHR 451). The stock exchange was a six storey building with 200 offices. The main business area was on the ground floor in a large vaulted chamber, known as the Cathedral Room. This was an area that was reserved for client meetings and was not open to the general public. The total cost of the building, including the land, was £254,000.Overall the purchase and building construction was not a terribly good investment and in 1921 the Stock Exchange, due to financial difficulties, was forced to sell its property back to the ES&A Bank for only £136,500.Once the ES&A Bank re-acquired the entire block of land, it devised plans of expanding the bank to incorporate the former Stock Exchange building and the Safety Deposit, the management of which was taken over by the bank. The architects for the redevelopment were Kirkpatricks in 1923/4. The banking chamber was extended to include most of the ground floor of the stock exchange. This meant that the main entrance to the former stock exchange was repositioned to the right of the building, which opened into a passage leading back to the Cathedral Room. The original design of the banking chamber was replicated in the extension. In addition, a large glass and iron skylight was installed over the banking counter. The Cathedral Room had a few alterations made to it, including the addition of some windows, but was left largely original. [380 Collins Street An Appraisal of the Conversation Constraints Revised Report, Allom Lovell & Associates July 1998. P. 80]The sixth floor of the former stock exchange was leased out to the Lyceum club in 1925 and they used this area for nine years at extremely low rent. The Melbourne branch of the Lyceum Club was established in 1912 and was for women who had demonstrated their ability or commitment to the areas of philanthropy, arts, community service, education, medicine or science, writing or music. [A History of the Lyceum Club Melbourne, Joan Gillison, McKellar Press, Melvern 1975, p. 1] Social standing or wealth were not enough to gain membership. When the Club moved into the rooms on the sixth floor of the former stock exchange building the design was not particularly appropriate to their needs. Two of their members, the architects Mrs Lorna Phillips and Miss Murial Stott devised a system of folding walls and doors so that the area could be opened up into a large open space when required. [A History of the Lyceum Club Melbourne, Joan Gillison, McKellar Press, Melvern 1975, p. 50] In 1934 the ES&A Bank had an offer to lease the rooms at a rate more equivalent to its value, which was considerably more than the Lyceum Club was able to afford and decided to accept it. Rather than leaving the Club stranded however, the bank offered the lease of the first and second floor of the bank, which until 1933 had been used as the residence of the General Manager, again at very low rates. [A History of the Lyceum Club Melbourne, Joan Gillison, McKellar Press, Melvern 1975, p. 60] The Club accepted the offer and remained in this accommodation until 1957.The Safe Deposit building was also designed by William Pitt, although the building is externally less ornate than the Stock Exchange. It is also constructed of brick rather than sand stone. The Safe Deposit within this complex was the first established in Australia and perhaps reflects the waning opinion of the security of banks during the depression of the 1890s. [380 Collins Street An Appraisal of the Conversation Constraints Revised Report, Allom Lovell & Associates July 1998. P. 43] The Safe Deposit itself was highly advanced, consisting of 3000 individual safes to be leased out, and was located in the basement of the building. The concrete walls surrounding the safe, but standing away from it, were one metre thick, and the safe was made of wrought iron boiler plate, lined with undrillable steel. Each of the four doors were secured by a time lock that prevented access outside of business hours. [Banking Museum information ?Melbourne Safety Deposit?] The Safe Deposit operated as a business until 1969 when, because it had become uneconomical, it was moved elsewhere. However, in 1994, with the refurbishment of the Gothic Bank complex, the decision was made to reopen it in its original location.In 1989 the ANZ Bank performed major renovations to the banking complex, linking the Gothic Bank and the former Stock Exchange with the Safety Deposit building by covering the area between the buildings with a glass atrium. Behind this a multi-storied tower was constructed to house the ANZ Bank's headquarters. Along with this new construction, the bank carried out a great deal of restoration work on the Gothic Bank, resurrecting the Verdon Chambers to its former splendour and restoring the paintwork in the banking chamber.Associated People: William PittCites:Allom Lovell and Associates Pty Ltd 1989 380 Collins Street: an appraisal of the conservation constraints and the proposed redevelopmentAllom Lovell & Associates 1998 380 Collins Street An Appraisal of the Conversation Constraints Revised Report.GRAEME BUTLER 1985 MELBOURNE CENTRAL ACTIVITIES DISTRICT CONSERVATION STUDYBUILDING IDENTIFICATION FORM cites:City of Melbourne Building Permit Application 517;Victoria Illustrated: 177.Victorian Heritage DatabaseNational Trust of Australia (Vic) Property No B0081Statement of SignificanceThe Former E.S. & A. (The Gothic Bank), was erected in 1883-87 and originally served as the Head Office and General Manager's residence of the E. S. & A. Bank. The architect was W.W. Wardell, the contractors were Goss and Mason, and the Clerk of Works was A Todd. The three storey brick structure is faced with Pyrmont stone. In 1923 the banking chamber was enlarged into the adjacent Stock Exchange Building and minor alterations were made to the facades.This is the finest sectarian gothic revival building in Victoria and masterpiece of William Wardell. It stands as a monument to Sir George Verdon, the bank's general manager and patron of the gothic revival, and was the focus of a series of gothic branches erected by the E. S. & A. Bank. The finely composed and austere facades are modelled on Venetian gothic architecture; they contrast with the unique and magnificent banking chamber. The decoration and finishes throughout the building are of the highest quality.Adaptation from AHC Citation.Classified: 02/12/1974Group Statement: The important Wardell corner bank of 1883 is flanked by two allied buildings by William Pitt at 380 Collins Street (built as the Stock Exchange in 1891) and 90 Queen Street (built as the Melbourne Safe Deposit in 1890) & integrated into the bank in 1922. This major corner group of Gothic Revival buildings of the Land Boom period is the only one of its kind still surviving in the City of Melbourne. Their detail is sympathetic and re-modelling as has occurred has been most skilfully carried out.Group Classified: 02/12/1974Group Classification with: B3574 (88-92 Queen Street), B6188 (94-98 Queen Street), B6189 (100-104 Queen Street), B6190 (106-110 Queen Street), B6191(118-126 Queen Street).
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| Type | Reference No. | Extent | Status/Desc |
|---|---|---|---|
| Original | 102132 | 1 PDF : 1,742 KB ; A4 | Group of Items (May not be issued, may not be reproduced) |